Paula Deen's fans have come to her defense after the Food Network dumped the Southern comfort food queen after she acknowledged using racial slurs in the past.

Written by

DeWayne Wickham

Paula Deen's foul mouth should have gotten her sacked long before now. If bad talk really matters to the folks who run the Food Network, it shouldn't have taken the leaking of a deposition, in which Deen admits having uttered the n-word in private conversations, to kick the celebrity cook off of TV.

Her repeated use of the word "butter" should have gotten her fired long ago. But her departure is being pinned instead to the revelation that she once used a racial pejorative that many blacks find offensive. For this, the Food Network announced it is dropping Deen's show when its contract runs out on ...